


How To Date A British Vampire

by AgentOklahoma



Series: How To... [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-23
Updated: 2013-09-23
Packaged: 2017-12-27 11:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/978065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentOklahoma/pseuds/AgentOklahoma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael wasn’t stupid. He often did stupid things like try to eat wooden spoonfuls of cinnamon, wrestle people in eggnog and attempt to run down a flight of stairs, backwards, but he was far from stupid.</p><p>Which is why he started noticing things about his friend and co-worker, Gavin.</p><p>Vampire!GavinxMichael</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael wasn’t stupid. He often did stupid things like try to eat wooden spoonfuls of cinnamon, wrestle people in eggnog and attempt to run down a flight of stairs, backwards, but he was far from stupid.

Which is why he started noticing things about his friend and co-worker, Gavin.

Like how he had a creeper thermos with him constantly. He never refilled it at the office and he never poured the contents into anything else, keeping it within reaching distance at all time.

Or whenever someone cut themselves, he would mumble something about going to throw up and then leave the room despite not looking nauseous or making that weird gagging noise he made whenever confronted with his enemy, wet bread. 

So Michael decided to investigate.

“Come on, Ray,” Michael pleaded while Ray just sat there, working on his computer. Gavin had left for lunch with Geoff and Jack while he and Ray were still in the office finishing off their jobs. Michael had approached Ray to ask for his assistance in figuring out what was up with Gavin.

“No. I’m not gonna help you and you shouldn’t look into it either,” Ray said stiffly, gripping the mouse a little tighter. Michael frowned in bemusement.

“What’s going on with you man? Is everything alright?” Michael asked and Ray just sat at his computer. But as it was previously said, Michael was not stupid. He noticed the way Ray’s jaw clenched anxiously and the way his back stiffened while he worked. He was afraid of something.

“I’m fine. Just...don’t look into it, okay?” Ray said, giving Michael a pleading look. Michael was really confused at this point. But he didn’t let it deter him. Ray wasn’t gonna help so Michael was just gonna have to find out himself.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

“Hey Michael, wanna hang out tonight?” Gavin asked, leaning against Michael’s desk. The American looked up at his friend. He’d spent nearly a week trying to work out what was up with Gavin but had found. Nothing. Absolutely. Nothing. Gavin always managed to disappear as soon as Michael took his eyes off him. Now he had the perfect chance to get close to Gavin.

“Sure, but my apartment’s getting remodelled,” Michael lied, praying that Gavin would say the right thing.

“You can come over to mine. You haven’t been yet, have you?” Gavin asked, looking a little excited now. 

“No, I haven’t. It’d be cool to see it though,” Michael said, trying to hold back an overly excited grin. The Brit was making this so much easier than it could have been.

“Top, come by around 6. I’ll get the pizza,” Gavin said with a smile.

Michael agreed and the pair got back to work. Michael worked out a list of things he wanted to check while he was at Gavin’s but nearly all of them needed Gavin to leave the room. It would be difficult but Michael would find a way to manage.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael didn’t know what to expect, standing outside of Gavin Free’s apartment. The door looked normal; dark wood, brass doorknob and a brass knocker. Michael stared at the door suspiciously nonetheless and reached his hand out, cautiously, to use the knocker, only to jump three feet in the air when the door opened without him touching it. Gavin stood there with a wide grin, a grey button down shirt and a pair of dark jeans.

“Hey Michael, welcome. Come on in,” Gavin said, taking Michael’s wrist in his hand and pretty much dragging him into the room. Michael let out a yelp as he was pulled in but found himself in awe of the apartment once he was inside. His place was nice.

The floors were dark hardwood, the walls a nice deep red and the ceiling was cream. The black leather couches went nicely with the glass coffee table sitting in front of a cabinet with an xbox and large plasma screen tv, a collection of video games sitting on one of the shelves beside the xbox. The kitchen was large with black countertops, a steel door fridge, oven and dishwasher and everything looked absolutely spotless, save for the pizza box sitting on the counter.

“Wow. This is...your place is really nice,” Michael said honestly.

“Thanks,” Gavin said, walking past Michael and grabbing the pizza box, opening the fridge to look through it. “What kind of bevs would you like, my Michael?” he asked while Michael wandered around.

“Um, beer, if you have it,” Michael said, trying to peer into the fridge but Gavin’s body was blocking his view. His nicely toned ass, more precisely, which is what Michael was staring at when Gavin stood upright with two beers in his hand. He kicked the fridge shut, bringing Michael’s attention back up to his face, and handed one of the beers to Michael, leading him over to the couch.

“So, movie?” Gavin asked and Michael nodded, sitting down on the couch with a practically obscene moan when he felt how comfortable it was. Gavin chuckled and sat beside him, setting down the pizza box and sitting back with one arm stretched along the back while the other used the remote to switch everything on, changing to the controller when he got the xbox set up.

“You wanna pick?” Gavin asked, handing the controller to Michael and when the American took it, he draped his other arm along the couch as well, his hand brushing against the back of Michael’s neck. Michael flinched at the feeling, mostly because Gavin’s hand was fucking _freezing._

“You alright?” Gavin asked, honestly not knowing what Michael was doing. Michael rubbed the back of his neck and furrowed his brow before shaking his head.

“It’s uh, it’s nothing. You’re just really cold,” Michael commented, relaxing against the couch again. They spent the rest of the night sitting there, watching movies, Michael getting through three beers and half of the pizza before he realised that Gavin hadn’t touched his beer or the pizza.

“Ah, I’m not hungry,” Gavin explained with a smile and Michael frowned again, but went back to watching the movie. After their viewing of the Dawn of the Dead remake, Gavin excused himself to go use the bathroom, leaving Michael with the opportunity to snoop but mostly to get himself another beer, all of the previous ones had been fetched from Gavin with a sort of urgency to keep Michael from getting one himself. So, the first thing he went to was the fridge. He was expecting some sort of weird British food or something going off in there as a reason to keep him away which is why it took him a moment to process what he saw when he actually looked in.

Bags. Not just plastic bags. Blood bags, stamped with different types. There were at least half a dozen just sitting on the shelves with the beers. Michael gasped and stumbled backwards and tripping over his own feet, just to have a pair of arms wrap around his waist to keep him from falling Gavin’s voice whisper in his ear.

“You shouldn’t have done that Michael.”


	2. Chapter 2

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael started to struggle in Gavin’s arms and try to call out for help, just to have the taller man clamp a hand over his mouth and turn him around to pin him to the counter, hazel eyes tinted slightly red.

“Michael, calm down. I’m not going to hurt you,” Gavin said soothingly and Michael attempted to convey ‘It sure doesn’t fucking look like it’ purely through an expression and it seemed to translate pretty well because Gavin responded by loosening his grip but kept his hand over Michael’s mouth.

“I’m going to take my hand away and you’re going to do the smart thing and not scream. Do we understand each other?” Gavin asked and Michael hesitated for a moment before nodding, rubbing his mouth with his own hand when Gavin pulled his away. He took a few steps away, just to manage to trap himself in another corner of the kitchen.

“S-So what? You’re some sort of serial killer, like fucking Dexter but instead of slides, you like bags? What? One drop not enough?” Michael theorised, his voice cracking in places as he tried to work out how to escape. Gavin leant casually against the counter and rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m not a serial killer. I’m uh, I’m actually a vampire,” Gavin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. There was a moment of silence before Michael started laughing in a slightly hysterical way that made Gavin worry a little for his friend’s sanity.

“I think I’d have preferred you tell me you’re the British Dexter. Now you’re a serial killer AND insane,” Michael said, opening up one of the kitchen drawers to pull out a large knife to defend himself with. Gavin raised his hands to show he meant no harm and took a step back, still the poster boy for calm and collected while his friend looked like all he wanted was to sit in the foetal position in the corner and cry.

“Michael, I’m telling you the truth. I can prove it to you. Could you please just put the knife down?” Gavin asked but Michael just kept holding the knife up in between them. Gavin sighed. He didn’t want to do this but Michael probably wasn’t going to budge. He walked forward, moving closer and closer to Michael, the American just standing there and staring in horror when Gavin’s chest met the knife and he just kept moving forward...

The knife piercing his chest, sliding in until the start of the handle.

Gavin’s face remained calm as he gently uncurled Michael’s fingers from around the handle, cradling them gently in one while the other pulled out the knife in his chest, flinching a little at the pain before the injury healed itself nearly instantaneously. Michael watched, eyes wide and mouth agape as his friend placed the knife on the counter beside him, watching Michael with his eerie, red tinted eyes.

“I-I...Gav-...P-Please don’t kill me,” Michael asked because begged wasn’t the right word. He seemed to be trying to appeal to his friend Gavin rather than pleading for his life from a monster.

“I’d never hurt you Michael. We’re friends,” Gavin said with that same boyish smile he’d always had and Michael marginally relaxed, looking slightly less like he was about to run to the balcony and jump off just to escape. Gavin moved away to the other side of the kitchen, trying to give Michael a little more room to breathe.

“S-So...you’re a va-vampire?” Michael asked and Gavin nodded in reply. Michael took a cautious step forward and reached his hand up slowly to Gavin’s mouth, pausing a few inches away and silently asking ‘may I?’ Gavin nodded again, opening his mouth slightly and tilting his head to the side, displaying his fangs. They were long and curved backwards like anaconda’s teeth and probably just as sharp. Michael ran his finger over the point, jumping a little when Gavin twitched, cutting himself on the tooth. He pulled his hand away and sucked on his fingers, his eyes wide as he panicked internally at having exposed his blood to a vampire. 

“Calm down, you knob,” Gavin said, walking over and reaching past Michael to open a cabinet. He pulled out a first aid kit and retrieved a bandaid, unwrapping it and taking Michael’s hand into his own to cover up the small knick that he knew would bleed for a while. Vampire fangs are sharp as dicks. “It’s not like I go rabid at the sight of blood. Just a bit hungry but I ate already so you’re fine,” Gavin explained, tossing the bandaid wrapper in the trash and returning to his spot on the other side of the kitchen. Michael nodded slowly, as if the physical movement of his head going up and down would help power along his ability to process this information.

“So you’re a vampire. A blood-drinking vampire,” Michael said and Gavin mocked his friend’s slow nod.

“Yeees, I drink blood. But I don’t explode in sunlight, I can eat garlic and I can still see my reflection in mirrors. I just like having my hair like this,” Gavin said with a cheeky smile, trying to lighten up to room while Michael had his small internal meltdown.

“And you’ve _always_ been a vampire?” Michael asked, looking at his friend.

“Well, not always. Just since...It’s been a while though, since I was turned,” Gavin said, his smile turning melancholic as he stood there, leaning against the counter.

“What? When were you...turned? 1900’s? 1800? Give me an estimate,” Michael asked, honestly curious now that his initial shock had worn down a little.

“I was turned in 1443,” Gavin answered shortly.

....

_Thud_

Gavin sighed and rolled his eyes as Michael lay there on the floor, unconscious.

“Bollocks.”

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

When Michael woke, he was lying in a bed, deep red covers pulled up over him and it felt like he was clothed save for his shoes. He sat up in the bed, hands running over the soft blankets and wondering what the hell he was doing in this strange bed. The he remembered and he jumped out of bed, going straight to the bedroom door. Gavin stood at the kitchen counter, mug in one hand and the other idly scrolling through his phone as he checked what appeared to be twitter. He turned to look at Michael with a smile, nodding his head towards a pot full of steaming coffee.

“Thought you might like some,” he said simply, going back to reading his twitter feed while Michael cautiously walked around Gavin and got himself a cup of coffee, deciding to keep it black rather than risk going into the fridge again...

“Please tell me that was just some insane dream and you’re not actually Dracula’s goddamn great-grandson or something,” Michael said, but Gavin just chuckled and shook his head.

“Sorry, my little Michael. Every word was true,” Gavin said and Michael ran a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth in the room.

“Does anyone else in the office know?” Michael asked.

“Geoff does. He’s my handler. He keeps other people from finding out and makes sure I’m not eating anyone,” Gavin said calmly. “Why do you think I lived with him for so long? He wasn’t sure he could trust me so I let him get a feel for me,” he finished.

“So uh, what now?” Michael asked. Gavin quirked an eyebrow, then set his phone and turned to give Michael his full attention.

“What do you mean?” Gavin asked.

“Well, are you gonna kidnap me and keep me in your basement? Turn me? Keep me as your blood bitch?” Michael asked, squeaking a little at the end. Gavin looked honestly shocked.

“N-No! I’m not gonna do anything like that. All I ask is that you don’t tell anyone. You’re my friend and I trust you,” Gavin said, giving Michael a sincere smile. Michael relaxed a little and sipped at his coffee purely because he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Do you have any questions?” Gavin asked and it was his way of trying to make Michael more comfortable. All he wanted was for his closest friend to be okay with what he was. What he was forced to be, actually.

“Yeah. Just one, really at the moment....How did you become a vampire?” Michael asked. Gavin’s face dropped a little, the smile disappearing completely and leaving only a bones-deep sadness on his face that made Michael want to take the question back immediately.

“It’s uh...it’s a long story. Here’s how it happened...”


	3. Chapter Three

AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-

Gavin motioned for Michael to sit down on the couch while Gavin paced slowly back and forth at the front of the room, the gears in his mind visibly turning as he tried to decide how to tell this story.

“I was 24, in the English military. Pretty much everyone was, because of the Hundred Years war. The black death took my family from me while I’d been fighting so I stopped being anything other than a soldier, I would live in the battlefields and every day started with me wondering whether or not I would die, be it the plague or a blade,” Gavin said, not looking at Michael while he talked.

“I had just come back from an attack on a French town called Meaux when the King sent me off with some lord that had been invited to attend a function held by the leader of Wallachia. Vlad the Dracul. We were there for maybe five minutes before they threw us in his dungeon, killing the lord and keeping me there for a week before he finally came to tell me what he wanted,” Gavin paced back and forth, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“He’d heard about how good a fighter I was and he wanted me to be his personal bodyguard. At first, he offered me everything. Money, women, anything I wanted just to pledge my allegiance to only him. When I refused telling him my ‘allegiance lay with the crown’,” Gavin said bitterly and as if it was only yesterday this had happened, “he tried...another method,” Gavin trailed off, sitting on the other couch, his hands shaking a little as he spoke, and Michael realised it was probably because this story wasn’t a story for Gavin. It was his history. A life he lead before Achievement Hunter, before Slow Mo Guys, fuck, centuries before the others were born, before their _great grandparents_ were born.

A life where he had survived real fucking battles and the black goddamn plague just to be taken prisoner by a psychopath and it didn’t take a genius to deduce that this psycho was the reason Gavin was not human anymore. Gavin seemed a little lost in his thoughts and it took Michael coughing a little to prompt him to keep talking.

“Oh, sorry. Um, where was I?” Gavin muttered to himself before he nodded, continuing his story. “He spent the next month torturing me. He’d deprive me of food, of water, of sunlight. Even human conversation for days at a time, just to come in and make his offer again. I’d refuse and he’d repeat the process. When he realised that this wasn’t working, he started...drinking from me,” Gavin said in a small voice, his hand instantly coming up to rub his neck on the side. 

“He’d take enough to make me weak a little delirious then would leave me there to hallucinate and starve, alone, coming back in a day or two to give me some of his own blood to heal me enough to restart the process,” Gavin wrapped his arms around himself. Michael listened intently as Gavin talked, using every ounce of his restraint not to just go over and pull Gavin into his arms.

“It wasn’t really him turning me on purpose. He didn’t care if I was human, just that I worked for him. But after a month of this, my body couldn’t take it anymore. He took too much and I died from blood loss. But I still had his blood in my system from the last time he’d healed me and it was enough for me to turn,” Gavin said, looking at Michael for the first time since he’d started talking. His hazel eyes weren’t filled with that boyish mirth they usually were. For the first time since Michael had met Gavin, he could actually see how old he was. He could see the years of pain and loneliness he’d suffered because this one sadistic prick couldn’t just take a ‘no’ on a fucking job offer.

“And because he hadn’t realised he’d turned me, I was left, blood starved in the dungeon for another week before anyone noticed,” Gavin snapped, not angry at Michael or anyone at the moment and the American realised that this is probably the first time he’d every told this story, in full, to anyone. “Being starved of blood isn’t anything like being starved of food. It’s more like your sanity and the part of you that’s human is draining away, leaving only fear and anger and hunger.” Gavin looked at Michael and seemed a little shocked with himself, his hands clenched into fists, a low growl coming from his chest that was completely involuntary.

“They realised I was there,” Gavin said, a little more calm now, “they fed me and taught me how to control myself. Vlad was killed a few years later by his son who released me. He never thought it was okay to keep me there. So I spent nearly 550 years learning how to pretend to be human. Getting handlers from a clan I joined a few years after I was turned helped. My handler always kept an eye on me. And that’s my story. That’s why I am like I am,” Gavin concluded.

There was silence in the room as Michael processed what Gavin told him. Then, he stood up, walked over to Gavin’s couch, sat down beside him and wrapped his arms around Gavin’s neck in a hug. The vampire was surprised by this action.

“I can’t think of a way to apologise for the universe about how much all that must have sucked, so I’m hugging you instead,” Michael mumbled into Gavin’s shoulder. Gavin was honestly surprised by Michael’s show of sympathy but his lips slowly curved up into a small smile and he wrapped his arms around Michael’s waist, relaxing in the comfort of his friend’s arms.

“You don’t need to. I’ve come to terms with what I am and even though how it happened sucks massive dick, I have to appreciate it,” Gavin said and Michael frowned, pulling away to look at his friend’s face.

“Why would you? A guy killed you, brought you back and tortured you. Why would you appreciate that?” Michael asked, honestly shocked and confused. But Gavin seemed comfortable with his answer.

“Otherwise, I would never have met you,” Gavin said simply. He then stood up and told Michael was he going to hit the hay. Michael had only come over to Gavin’s place 9 hours ago, making it around 3am on a Saturday.

Michael didn’t react until Gavin’s bedroom door closed. Then the American laid down on the couch with a huff, his completely overloaded brain focusing on what Gavin said.

_‘Otherwise, I would never have met you.’_


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of making out but nothing more really.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

When Michael woke the next morning, he realised he was still in Gavin’s apartment. He pulled out his phone and checked the time and date, realising it was around 3am on Sunday. The room was silent and still very dark, thin strips of light slipping in through the curtains from the street lights outside. The American stood from the couch, taking a few steps around the room aimlessly as he tried to force himself to become tired again but his gaze was drawn to Gavin’s bedroom door.

‘Do vampires even sleep?’ Michael thought to himself, his feet carrying him to the door and before his conscious mind could stop him, he was reaching for the door handle. Michael didn’t know what to expect when he opened Gavin’s bedroom door. A bloodless virgin tied up in the corner? Some pretty exotic girl getting a hit of vamp fangs? A fucking goat?

What Michael saw was Gavin, lying on his stomach in bed, an arm stretched out across the bed and the covers having drifted down to show his bare back, stopping just above his hips. Michael stood at the door, a little surprised the noise of the door opening didn’t wake Gavin, especially with his super vampire hearing. He stepped, cautiously into the room and made his way over to Gavin’s side of the bed, and once he got a little closer, he saw why Gavin might have been a little distant from the real world. 

He was having a nightmare. He was shaking, his back was covered in a thin layer of sweat and the muscles there were twitching as if he was fighting something, low whimpers and groans escaping his lips and clenched teeth. But what caught Michael’s attention and forced him to look closer were the scars running up and down Gavin’s back. They varied from long thin slices to short, deep gashes. Since vampires heal nearly instantly and leave no scars, these would have had to have happened before he’d turned, his body thinking that’s what it’s supposed to look like. Michael ran through Gavin’s story in his head again, trying to decide which scars were from the war and which might have been from his...sire? Was that the right term?

In attempting to be politically correct concerning vampire terminology, Michael’s hand thought it was a good idea to move forward, his fingers drifting gently over the exposed skin of Gavin’s back along the edge of one of his scars.

The next moment, Michael was pinned to the bed, a panting Gavin straddling with one hand trapping his above his head and the other around his throat, squeezing a little. Michael was frozen as he lay on the bed, watching Gavin’s brain start to kick in, the fear of the nightmare flickering and fading before being replaced by the sharpness of reality. Gavin’s eyes jumped from Michael’s face to his pinned hands, then down to the hand around his throat and the grip immediately softened so he wasn’t restraining Michael or choking him. The hand resting on Michael’s arms slid down a little, running a finger over the underside of his wrist while the one over his throat moved to tangle itself in Michael’s shirt.

“M-Michael,’ Gavin said simply, leaning forward a little so their lips were barely a few centimetres apart. Michael felt his face flush as Gavin moved closer, the hand that had been released running from Gavin’s thigh to his chest and back down. His body felt oddly energised by stuck, like he was one of those little roundup toys just about to hit his peak and snap on.

Then Gavin removed those last few centimetres, pressing his lips to Michael’s in a soft kiss that quickly evolved into something far more passionate. Gavin pulled Michael up so he was sitting in his lap, peppering kisses up and down his neck as his hands drifted down to Michael’s ass, pulling him close enough to grind into him long and strong.

Michael let out a quiet moan at the sensation of Gavin right there against him, rolling his hips as well while his hands grazed up Gavin’s back, revelling the sensation of touching the Brit’s smooth, tanned skin.

“God, Michael,” Gavin moaned, making Michael moan at an equal volume, as he undid his jeans and started taking off Michael’s shirt, Michael moving up and down in Gavin’s lap the whole time.

“Gavin,” Michael sighed, yelping a little as Gavin pushed him back onto the bed, covering the American’s body with his and kissing him with vigour. “G-God Gavin, please,” Michael begged, not sure what he was asking for. Gavin seemed to be able to understand because he disappeared from Michael’s limited sight, kissing Michael’s neck and pressing his teeth down a little as his hands wrapping around his...

Michael opened his eyes as he lay on the couch, his jeans bulging a little more than normal and most definitely alone on the couch.

“Fuck,” Michael said to himself, “I want vampire Gavin,” Michael said to himself, just to have the door open up and reveal Gavin with a confused and slightly shocked look on his face.

“You want me?”

_‘Fuck’._


	5. Chapter Five

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael was frozen on the couch and Gavin remained in the doorway, both staring at each other and both unable to say a single fricking word. Since Michael was still not used to Gavin’s status as ‘not human’, remembering that vampires had super-sense hadn’t exactly happened, leaving Michael blushing so severely that Gavin was afraid his friend was going to pass out. Also, the fact that, like in the dream, Gavin wasn’t wearing a shirt didn’t help at all.

“I-I..I mean um, so it...I,” Michael stuttered, feeling like he was watching a car crash. He wanted to tear his eyes away from Gavin’s but he couldn’t. It was the most terrifying experience ever. Gavin waited patiently for Michael to explain.

“I meant I-I wanted to talk to you,” Michael tried very weakly. Gavin quirked an eyebrow and tapped his nose.

“Vampire, Michael. I can smell it on you. You just had a... _fun_ dream and you were saying my name,” Gavin said, walking towards Michael, the American frozen in his seat and all he could do was watch as Gavin approached him, bending down so they were at eye level. Then he did something Michael wasn’t expecting. He thought there’d be teeth in his neck, maybe a pair of hands gripping his head and twisting it, the final thing he’d hear being the sound of his own neck breaking. 

Instead, there was a gentle hand tilting his chin so he was looking up and the feel of soft lips grazing against his own, pressing in just a little that made Michael’s chest thud heavily as his heart skipped a beat. He was dizzy for a moment from the feeling and nearly fell forward off the couch when Gavin pulled away, still keeping close.

“I want you too, Michael,” Gavin said quietly, his hazel eyes boring into Michael’s brown with an intensity that made the older man (physically older anyway) shiver and his mind go straight back to the dream. He closed his eyes and took a few shaky breaths in to calm himself, only to open his eyes to Gavin looking like he’d just gotten a hit of pure sexual energy and was trying to keep from ripping Michael’s clothes off.

“You have a really good sense of smell,” Michael said in a sort of off handed way, trying to distract from the fact that his was getting very... _uncomfortable_ with how close they were.

“And you smell really good,” Gavin breathed against Michael’s lips, tilting his head to the side to nuzzle Michael’s throat with his nose, inhaling a little just to get a better smell. Michael’s body shuddered again and his hands moved from where they were frozen on the couch to run up Gavin’s chest, feeling the cold skin and a little part of his brain suggested he and Gavin should go to the bedroom to help warm him up. Michael pushed it down and told it to shut the fuck up for the moment.

“I-I, Gavin, you...I mean, can we talk about this f-for a sec ‘cause I’m having a big gay freakout at the moment and you’re a vampire and you’re smelling me, and I need to process this for a second,” Michael said in a mad rush, his voice getting higher and faster until he finally stopped and took a breath. Gavin moved back a little and sat on the couch beside Michael, making sure they weren’t touching at all but staying close to allow the option.

“What’s there to freak out about? I like you, you like me. What’s the problem?” Gavin asked calmly. Michael sat there, staring at Gavin as if on top of being a vampire, he was also the queen of France and like the crochet with Shakespeare.

“I’m straight! Or I was or something, fuck,” Michael said, leaning forward and burying his head in his hands. Gavin rubbed Michael’s back comfortingly, just bearing with Michael’s panic.

“There is such a thing as bisexual Michael. I guess you just aren’t as attracted to guys as others are,” Gavin suggested. Michael shrugged and sat back against the couch, wondering what the hell he was going to do.

“So...what, are we dating now or something?” Michael asked, looking at Gavin. Gavin had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Are you too bothered by my...species to want to date?” Gavin asked.

“I don’t know. You’re...a vampire but you’re still Gavin. Are you going to try to eat me every other day?” Michael asked and Gavin looked offended.

“I would never do that,” Gavin said, his eyes flickering a little bit between colours. Michael was taken aback by the tone, his mind briefly asking how long Gavin had liked him for his reaction to being accused of possibly hurting Michael to be this angry.

“Alright. Well...maybe we could be...like, boyfriends and shit,” Michael said, blushing a little and focusing on his fidgeting hands. Because he wasn’t looking at Gavin, he didn’t notice the wide smile on his face but he did notice the small kiss pressed to his cheek and the arms wrapped around him.

“I’d love if we could be ‘boyfriends and shit’, Michael,” Gavin said. Michael went redder, but managed to relax in Gavin’s arms, letting Gavin pull him in so the American was resting his head on the other man’s chest.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

The next hour was spent talking while Gavin held Michael, running his fingers through his hair and just telling each other about themselves. 

“So...how many people have you dated? You know, since being a vampire?” Michael asked, feeling a little awkward for asking the question. Gavin paused his movements, then went back to stroking Michael’s hair.

“I’ve uh, I’ve only dated other vampires. I never dated a human. Before you, of course,” Gavin amended. Michael sat up and turned around, facing Gavin with a look of shock.

“You’re kidding. I mean, how have you not dated a human? You’ve been alive for...however fucking long you’ve been alive for and it never occurred to you to date a human,” Michael said.

“Mostly because no one I’d come into contact with really knew,” Gavin explained. “I had to always keep it a secret in case someone ratted me out and I’d have to leave or my handler would have to...take care of it. And I never really trusted myself to be with someone and not hurt them,” Gavin said sadly. Michael was confused by this. They’d been friends for god knows how long and Gavin had never _once_ shown any indication that he was going to try to hurt any of their friends.

“Why wouldn’t you trust yourself?” Michael asked simply, moving closer to Gavin so he could take his hand in his and stroke the back of Gavin’s hand with his thumb.

“A part of being with someone is, well sex, right?” Gavin said and although Michael blushed heavily, he nodded. “There are so many horror stories in the vampire community about vampires that are with humans and then just end up killing them because they couldn’t control their hunger while they were ‘in the moment’,” Gavin said. Michael nodded in understanding, but Gavin continued. “And, I’m not sure I can control myself at all,” he finished.

“Well, you’ve... _fed_ from humans at some point, right?” Michael asked and Gavin bit his lip, shaking his head.

“No. I’ve never fed from a human. It’s always been from a bowl or a cup, and nowadays, it’s delivered to me in medical bag,” Gavin said, motioning to his fridge. “Mostly it’s ‘cause I’m afraid of hurting them but, well, feeding from someone is very sexual in nature. Doing that with someone that I wasn’t with seemed...wrong to me, I suppose,” Gavin said.

“But, vampires are meant to drink from people. Doesn’t it, like, hurt? Don’t you feel off about not feeding from a person?” Michael asked.

“It sort of feels like, well being hungry makes my throat sort of tingle and burn. If I drink the blood from the bags, it dies down but not entirely and I asked another vampire about it. She told me that that’s how it feels to drink from blood bags. It’s like, the blood loses some quality to it that stops up from being in pain,” Gavin explained.

“And you live like that?” Michael asked.

“Yeah. I mean, what alternative do I have?” Gavin asked, not at all expecting an answer, let alone the answer Michael gave.

“You could drink from me,” Michael said quietly.

Gavin just sat there and stared at Michael, waiting for him to laugh and say he was joking or to get up and leave or whatever he wanted to do but Michael just sat there.

“A-are you serious?” Gavin asked. Michael started stuttering and stared at his lap, playing with Gavin’s fingers as he attempted to talk.

“I-I mean if you wanted to, I couldn’t really force you to and you never know, I might taste like shit. B-but there’s always that option because if just drinking from the bags leaves you in pain like that, I would be a pretty awful boyfriend if I didn’t try to stop you from feeling like that,” Michael mumbled. Gavin just kept staring at him, making Michael look more and more uncomfortable.

“You know, you don’t have to offer something like... _that_ , just because you feel like you have to. I like you and want to see you because, you’re you. You shouldn’t feel like you have to offer yourself up like that,” Gavin said, pushing some curls out of Michael’s face. Michael nodded and had to stop himself from leaning into the touch.

“I-I know, I just thought, it might be an option. And if those vampire movies and shows tell us anything, it’s that vampire bites are fucking hot,” Michael tried to joke but laughed awkwardly and looked away from Gavin.

“We could try,” Gavin said simply. Michael nodded again and started undoing his shirt, making Gavin sit up straight in his seat and start flailing. “W-what are you doing?” Gavin asked. Michael looked a little confused and nervous.

“I didn’t want to get blood on my shirt, s-so I was...did you want me to keep my shirt on while you...?” Michael asked and Gavin just shook his head and waved his arms.

“I didn’t mean _now_ you dope. Like I said, feeding from someone is intimate. It’s more sexual than sex itself. Would you normally put out being with someone for less than a day?” Gavin asked, knowing Michael wouldn’t. Michael looked honestly surprised at his mistake and started doing his shirt back up, fingers fumbling over the buttons.

“No, I wouldn’t. M-my mistake,” Michael mumbled. Gavin stood up from the couch and Michael felt a little rejected, only to have Gavin reach his hand out and smile at him.

“But I think it’s okay to sleep in the bed together,” Gavin said and Michael blushed, nodding and standing up as he took Gavin’s hand in his, going to the bedroom. 

Just to sleep.


	6. Chapter Six

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael woke up with Gavin’s arms around him, his face hidden in the crook of Gavin’s neck as the vampire slept on. The American closed his eyes and snuggled in closer. Despite it being like cuddling an ice-cube, Gavin was oddly comfortable, his arms curling around Michael’s waist in just the right way.

“Morning,” Gavin said, his voice a little raspy from sleep. Michael looked up at Gavin, seeing his sleep-drunk face smiling down at him. Michael couldn’t help but return the smile, shifting a little as Gavin ran his fingers up and down Michael’s side.

“Afternoon actually,” Gavin said, tapping the clock on the bedside table, the obnoxious green numbers stating that it was, in fact, 1 in the afternoon.

“Jesus. We’ve spent the weekend together,” Michael realised. “Wasn’t this just meant to be ‘hanging out’? I hope Ray doesn’t expect this much next time we hang out,” Michael joked and Gavin chuckled, pressing a kiss to Michael’s hair and resting his head back down onto the pillows, his eyes closing as he just felt Michael lying there with him.

“Did you wanna go home? Maybe get a change of clothes or something? Or you could stay and just borrow something of mine,” Gavin suggested, obviously gunning for the second option.

“Well you’re really comfy so,” Michael said, trailing off and not needing to say he wanted to stay, making Gavin laugh again. “I just need a shower,” the American said, stretching in bed and then moving over so he was resting nearly on top of Gavin with his hands splayed out across Gavin’s chest.

“I can do a shower. Towels are in the bathroom, I’ll just find you something to wear,” Gavin said, tracing his fingers over the shell of Michael’s ear before he gave him a quick, light kiss on the lips. Michael’s face flushed and he stood up, feeling rather pampered when Gavin opened the door for him and closed it, allowing him privacy while he bathed.

The one thing Michael had to say, well two things actually, about Gavin’s bathroom. One, his shower was fucking. Amazing. Water pressure? Temperature? Size? Fucking, perfect. The other thing was the counter. It was similar to his own in that it was ridiculously large, most likely to accommodate a lot of hair shit and other grooming items but the only thing was when Gavin knocked on the door, asking to come in after Michael had finished in the shower and handed him the clothes that he’d picked out for Michael, the only thing that ran through Michael’s mind was Gavin picking him up, sitting him on the counter and just ravishing him.

And that was weird because Michael had never really linked ‘Gavin’ and ‘ravishing’ together until he saw him in an undone button down shirt and a pair of form fitting but rather low hanging jeans that left Michael feeling a little overexposed in just his towel.

“Th-thank you,” Michael stuttered and Gavin smiled, leaving the room and closing the door to allow Michael his privacy. The American turned to face the mirror, bracing his hands on the counter top to try and compose himself. Gavin was being all gentlemanly and sweet and that threw Michael off balance, being completely unable to throw on his normal snarky and dickish self around Gavin. The Brit was showing a side of him that was all so new to their dynamic and it was a little overwhelming for Michael.

Michael finished getting dressed in the pair of slightly-too-long jeans he’d had to roll up to keep from dragging on the floor and the white Henley shirt that, since Gavin had slightly broader shoulders than himself, fell across a little to one side and exposed his shoulder at times. When he walked out of the bathroom, Gavin was putting stuff away in his drawers and looked at Michael, an expression of awe on his face.

“What? Do I look stupid or something? I mean, your clothes aren’t gonna fit me all that well, obviously,” Michael said a little sharply to cover up his nervousness caused by the way Gavin was staring at him but the Brit just swept over and put his hands on Michael’s hips, his lips brushing against Michael’s as he smiled.

“No, you look...absolutely top,” Gavin said, not being able to find any other way of saying it. Michael smiled as he kissed Gavin lightly, his hands automatically reaching to loop around Gavin’s neck loosely.

“I uh, I feel pretty top too,” Michael admitted with a shy smile, pressing his lips against Gavin’s in a slightly more heated kiss, interrupted by the obnoxious ringing of Gavin’s cell phone. Gavin pulled away begrudgingly and answered the phone, mouthing ‘It’s Geoff’, to Michael.

 _“Hey Gav, haven’t heard from you since Friday. Just need to check up on you and report back to the guys upstairs. Everything alright?”_ Geoff asked casually, because he   
assumed everything was fine like it always was working with Gavin as his vampire. Gavin bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Um, there’s been a development,” Gavin said and he could hear Geoff drop something through the line and the creak of a chair moving, Gavin being able to picture Geoff sitting up straight at his home desk.

 _“Define ‘development’,”_ Geoff asked, his tone taking a serious turn.

“Well, I _might_ have told...Michael,” Gavin said, looking at his boyfriend and waiting for his handler’s reaction. There was absolute silence... 

Then Gavin heard the cock of a gun and the phone hung up.

Gavin’s eyes widened as he looked at the phone, then at Michael with a panicked look on his face.

“W-what? What happened?” Michael asked, Gavin hearing the other man’s heart rate spike with fear. “What did Geoff say?” He asked. Gavin pulled Michael into his arms and held him tight for a brief moment before releasing him, hands cupping his cheeks as he looked Michael right in the eyes.

“No matter what happens, stay behind me. Do you understand me? _No matter what,”_ Gavin ordered Michael and the New Jerseyan could almost feel the fear that was being expressed through Gavin’s eyes. He gave Gavin a shaky nod but it didn’t seem to satisfy Gavin.

“No, I need you to say it. Promise me,” Gavin said and Michael nodded again, a shaky ‘I promise’ making its way out of his fear choked throat. Gavin kissed Michael, quick and desperate, before he pulled away, having heard something outside. Gavin cursed the fact that Geoff only lived _maybe_ five minutes away. That’s going the speed limit, which Geoff was most definitely not.

Gavin moved into the living room, Michael following close behind as a thud was heard at the door. Then there was the nearly inaudible, even for Gavin, sound of metal tools in his front door as Geoff picked the lock, then the door swung open slowly, revealing Geoff with a serious look on his face, one that made Michael honestly fear for his life from the man he spent years laughing with and playing stupid games with. 

A man that was pretty much the office’s father was now pointing a gun directly at Michael.


	7. Chapter Seven

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

The tension in the room was palpable as Geoff stepped slowly into the room, closing the door behind him while his gun remained trained on Michael, at least until Gavin put himself in between them.

“Geoff, stop this. Everything’s fine,” Gavin tried to reason but Geoff’s face was stony as he pulled the trigger, hitting Gavin square in the chest, knocking the vampire back onto the floor with a shocked gasp. The gun was oddly silent and it took Michael a little too long to notice that there was a silencer, custom made apparently because it muffled all but a little bit of sound from the barrel of the gun. Geoff was serious. He was here to kill Michael just to keep Gavin’s secret just that. A secret, that Michael would carry to the grave.

“I’m really sorry, Michael. I didn’t want it to end like this. But I have to do my job and protect my family,” Geoff said, sounding sincerely upset that he was going to kill the New Jerseyan. Michael felt his eyes tear up in terror as he saw Geoff’s hand tense up, squeezing down on the trigger...  
Until Gavin threw himself at the armed man, snarling like a feral animal as he held Geoff down, knocking the gun out of his hand.

“Don’t touch him!” Gavin roared and Michael was close enough to see the way the Brit’s hazel eyes were completely red, his fangs bared at his friend and the expression on his face said it all. Just as Geoff was willing to kill Michael to protect Gavin’s secret, Gavin was willing to kill Geoff to protect Michael.

Geoff managed to flip Gavin off of him, twisting in some horribly complicated way to get Gavin lying on the floor on his stomach, Geoff’s arm around his neck to pin him there despite Gavin’s lack of a need for oxygen.

“I know you care about him but you can’t just tell him right of the fucking bat. He could spill it, ruin everything we’ve built here,” Geoff said, grunting as he tried to keep his hold on Gavin. “Our friends. Families. Achievement Hunter. Roosterteeth. We’d have to leave it all and start somewhere new. I’m not doing that,” Geoff said, taking something out of his pocket and stabbing it into Gavin’s neck, the vampire struggled a little before relaxing in Geoff’s arms. He seemed to still be able to breathe and talk but it was like his limbs stopped working. Geoff stood up, bending down to get his gun.

“I’m sorry Michael,” Geoff said simply but his movement was stopped in its tracks by Gavin saying one word.

“Vin-...vinculum,” Gavin rasped out. Geoff turned to stare at Gavin, the gun held loosely at his side.

“What?” Geoff snapped.

“Vinculum. F-fucking vinculum,” Gavin said, trying to push himself up to look at Geoff defiantly. The handler paused briefly, then sighed and clicked the safety back on his gun, concealing it in the waistband of his jeans as he looked at Michael.

“Sorry man. You have to understand, it’s my job,” Geoff explained and Michael just stood there with his eyes wide and his hands shaking a little. He’d been so close to dying, being shot by his boss just for it all to stop with Gavin saying one word. What was that fucking word?

“Give me the bloody antidote, arsehole,” Gavin grunted weakly, dropping back onto the floor with a pained look on his face. Geoff pulled out a syringe, stabbing it into Gavin’s neck and Gavin let out a relieved sigh after a few seconds, managing to stand up shakily with Geoff’s help. All the while, Michael stood, confused as fuck.

“Michael? You’re safe now. You can talk again,” Gavin said half-jokingly, worried for his boyfriend. Michael raised his hand in front of him, his mouth opening as if to say something but then he just gave up, walked to Gavin’s bedroom and shut the door behind him.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael sat on Gavin’s bed, his back against the headboard with his knees pulled to his chest. He looked up from the bed when he heard a knock on the door. It opened and Geoff peered around the door with a small awkward smile.

“Hey Michael,” Geoff said quietly. “Can I come in?” he asked and Michael nodded a little, shifting away when Geoff sat down on the edge of the bed.

“So what would you like to know?” Geoff asked and Michael furrowed his brow, curling up on himself a little more.

“Can’t Gavin be here?” Michael asked and Geoff shook his head.

“No, sorry. What I injected Gavin with pretty much sapped him of all of his strength and the antidote only does so much. He needs time to feed,” Geoff said simply. Michael nodded, if a little hesitantly. Geoff rubbed the back of his neck, taking the gun out of the waistband of his jeans and placing it on the bedside table.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I spent years of training and having it drilled into my brain that if someone found out about Gavin’s...condition, the person wasn’t to be trusted. I would have to contain the problem or we’d need to run and change lives,” Geoff said explained, not looking at Michael. 

“But your family must know. There’s no way Gavin lived with you for so long and Griffon and Millie never found out,” Michael said, trying to understand everything that had been going on right under his nose.

“They do but because they lived with me, it was easier to establish a cover for Gavin here as a new Roosterteeth employee than to establish a new one for the both of us. But if someone were to find out that wasn’t cleared and Gavin’s secret was to get out...all loose ends would have to be tied,” Geoff said quietly and Michael listened intently.

“Vampires are valuable. Their knowledge, a lot are fucking loaded and just their ability to turn others into vampires. As his handler, my priority was him and that would have trumped anything. Protocol says that in the case of a security breach, only the handler and the vampire are to have knowledge of that life. I would need to remove anyone that could possibly know about him,” Geoff’s voice turned hard and he looked at Michael with a fierceness that made the younger man flinch. “If you were to let his secret out, under torture or threat of death, I would have to kill my wife and child, and as much as I love you, all of you guys, I would put a bullet in each of you if it meant Griffon and Millie would stay safe. Make no mistake about that,” Geoff said harshly. Michael understood. He was afraid, terrified even, but he understood.

Michael decided to try and change the subject because as professional as he knew Geoff was, he was definitely not okay with confronting the idea of having to kill his family.

“So, what was that word Gavin said? I mean, you were going to kill me. I know you were, but he said that word and you stopped,” Michael said, relaxing a little when Geoff did.

“’Vinculum’. It’s a latin word, meaning ‘bond’. It’s the vampire equivalent of immunity for humans. As soon as he says that word, a human is exempt from protocol and allowed to live even if they haven’t been vetted for finding out about vampires,” Geoff explained. “But vampires don’t use it often. I’ve only heard of another case of using ‘Vinculum’ and that was 150 years ago,” Geoff finished.

“Wow. So...what does this mean? Why would Gavin use it for me? Or why would any vampire use it and risk exposure?” Michael asked, honestly curious about this.

“It means he thinks you’re his mate.”

....

_Thud_

“Fuck.”


	8. Chapter Eight

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael woke to muffled voices. When he opened his eyes, he realised he was in Gavin’s bed, under the covers, the bedroom door closed and Gavin and Geoff’s voices coming from the other room. He sat up and rubbed a hand over his face, trying to recall what had happened, then went red as he remembered.

He’d fainted.

Again. 

He was fainting like a fucking girl because of what was going on. And he wasn’t gonna have any of it. 

The New Jerseyan shot out of the bed, stomping over to the bedroom door and throwing it open, seeing Geoff and Gavin talking in the living room. They were sitting on the couches, a cup of coffee in front of Geoff and a glass of blood in front of Gavin. The pair stopped talking and turned their attention to Michael, Gavin’s lips upturning into a smile.

“Oh hey Michael, how are you feeling?” Gavin asked as if Michael had just gotten a little flu and was getting over it. This didn’t go over well with him.

“How am I feeling? How am I fucking _feeling_?” Michael snapped, not caring about the shocked look on either man’s face. “I’m feeling like shit. I find out you’re a vampire. I find out you like me, and that I like you after thinking I’m straight my whole fucking life. I find out not only is Geoff, my boss, in on you being a blood sucker, that he’s also your ‘handler’ who tried to kill me,” he paused and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, seeing it was a little past 3 in the afternoon, “not two hours ago,” he continued, stomping into the kitchen while he ranted. Gavin and Geoff’s eyes followed him in a synchronised way that would have been amusing but since Michael seemed legitimately pissed, it wasn’t as funny.

“ _Now_ ,” Michael continued on while he poured himself a cup of coffee, pulling out the milk and pausing with an irritated sigh at the sight of the blood bags in the fridge, pouring the milk and slamming the fridge door shut, “I find out you think I’m your mate. And we’re gonna sit here and I’m gonna ask questions and I’m gonna get answers _in their entirety_ until I know everything I wanna know,” Michael concluded as he sat himself down on the couch beside Gavin, placing his cup of coffee down next to Gavin’s blood. Then he looked at his boyfriend for a moment, took Gavin’s arm and put it around his shoulders.

“It makes me feel better. Don’t judge me,” he growled, crossing his arms and pouting. The other two men stared at Michael, then looked at each other with similar looks of surprise. 

“A-Alright, love. We’ll tell you as much as we ca-“ Gavin started but shut his mouth with a click of his teeth when Michael rounded on him.

“Oh no, none of that ‘as we can’ bullshit, vamp-boy. I will know everything, understood?” Michael snapped and Gavin nodded.

“Okay. We’ll uh, we’ll tell you everything,” Gavin said nervously and Geoff chuckled, his smile dying when Michael set his glare on him.

“Hey, Gavin? Think we can tell my bosses you don’t need a handler anymore if we show them Michael? He’s scary as fuck,” Geoff joked and Gavin chuckled a little but shut up quickly when Michael pinched him.

“So what do you want to know?” Gavin asked, tightening his arm around Michael to help calm him down. Michael leant into Gavin’s side and sipped at his coffee.

“First. What was that shit you poisoned _him_ with?” He asked simply.

“Silver, in simple terms. It’s a diluted mixture of chemicals with a bit of silver in it. Vampires are allergic,” Geoff answered concisely.

“I thought that was werewolves,” Michael said.

“It works on werewolves as well. A lot of things like us are allergic to silver. But if you give the same shot I get to a werewolf, you’d be likely to kill it,” Gavin said. “Werewolves have stronger allergy to it. For vampires, it’s more like a sedative,” he explained.

“Alright. Next question. Explain ‘vinculum’ and ‘mate’,” Michael asked and Gavin tensed up beside him, giving Geoff a pleading look. He didn’t know how to start this rather complicated explanation.

“So, I already told you, ‘vinculum’ means bond. So that’s what the vampires use as stating to their handler that they want a human to be protected but only if they believed them to be their mates,” Geoff started.

“Vampires use the word mate,” Gavin cut in quickly, “rather than ‘partner’ or ‘spouse’ because the connection between a vampire and their mate is a lot stronger for us than most humans,” Gavin said, shutting up quickly and looking back at Geoff.

“In the 1400’s, back when Gavin was first turned, there was a vampire with a human for a mate, which was unheard of, back then,” Geoff continued on, “But this vampire’s handler went along with protocol and killed the human. The vampire lost his shit and killed his handler before blood-starving himself and dying,” Geoff took a sip of coffee as Gavin piped up again.

“If a vampire’s mate is harmed, vampires just...lose the will to live,” Gavin says with a sad expression on his face. Because he’d seen this happen to friends who’d just...stopped. “Even if they hadn’t met them yet. But if they do meet, there’s nothing a vampire won’t do to protect them. And if they’re mate is killed while they’re together, they kill whoever did it but then they just can’t live with the guilt of not being able to save the one they love,” Gavin said, not looking at Michael.

“It’s why there are so few vampires nowadays,” Geoff cut in. “Vampires that have been alive for centuries have their mates born into the world but the human dies for whatever reason and the vampire just kills themself without having ever met their mates. But if they _do_ meet, then there’s a whole bunch of shit that can happen. The vampire accidentally feeds off of them without knowing they’re mates, the human rejects the vampire and they’re left to wander around and die of heartbreak,” Geoff lists, counting the points off his fingers.

“Vampire can die of _heartbreak_?” Michael asks incredulously.

“Humans do but it’s because the sadness manifests as their heart just...stopping from being sad. Because vampires don’t have beating hearts, their brains just shut down and they stop being able to feed properly. Then they die,” Geoff explains.

“ _But_ ,” Gavin keeps the topic going with a small smile on his face, “If a vampire does meet their mate and the human doesn’t reject them, most of those relationships continue on. Usually because the human turns though. The Old Ones are all mated and keeping our population up by making ‘children’,” Gavin says.

“You can’t say ‘all’. You’re one of the Old Ones,” Geoff says to Gavin, before turning to address Michael. “The Old Ones are a group of vampires that formed a council in the early 1400’s. The oldest of their kind. Gavin here is the third oldest vampire in recorded history. The next one up is nearing his 800th birthday and the oldest is a little over 1000 years old,” Geoff said, making Michael look at Gavin in a whole new light. He was part of some sort of Vampiric Super Society? Jesus, this was getting complicated.

“So they’re all mated. And Gavin never found his?” Michael asked and the room turned tense. He could feel Gavin’s arm stiffen around him and Geoff sat up in his seat.

“That’s why he called ‘vinculum’ when I was going to shoot you. He thinks you’re his mate,” Geoff said seriously. 

“And explain what that means. You keep calling me that but you keep giving me vague ideas,” Michael asked. Gavin pulled away from Michael, turning to face him on the couch.

“A mate is the one person you’re bonded to forever. It’s a part of your soul that exists in another body. Being with your mate makes everything better. For humans it means never needing anything else in the world as long as you have them. Geoff and Griffon are actually mates,” Gavin said with a smile and Geoff returned it. “We have magic users that can read people and tell them if they’re meant to be and I took Geoff and Griffon to one for their anniversary a while back.”

“For vampires it means all the pain and hunger we feel is gone if we just look at them. Touching them makes us feel warm. And a kiss,” Gavin says, pausing and letting out a small sigh of elation, “A kiss makes us feel like our hearts are beating. Like we’re alive again,” Gavin said with a wistful smile. Michael felt his face flush a little.

“And...And you think I-I’m...” Michael trailed off, pointing at himself. Gavin’s smile dropped and his eyes turned serious.

“I do. With you, everything is better. You make the pain fade, you make me feel warm. You make me feel _alive_ , Michael,” Gavin said, his smile returning as he took Michael’s hands into his. Michael was silent. The he pulled his hands away.

“I-I can’t. I can’t do this,” Michael stuttered, standing from the couch. Gavin looked liked he’d had the air knocked out of his lungs.

“M-Michael?” Gavin said simply but it wasn’t simple. There was so much pain and heartbreak in that utterance of Michael’s name that it almost made Michael go straight back into his arms.

“I’m sorry, Gavin. I can’t,” Michael said, getting his things and walking out the door.


	9. Chapter Nine

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

Michael sat in his apartment, in his bed, just staring at the wall as he tried to calm down. He could hear his phone ringing from the bedside table but couldn’t bring himself to look at it, let alone answer. It had been a little over 24 hours since he’d gotten home and needed to be at work in 4 hours. Being 4 in the morning and having been the only massively important thing in the last couple days, it was likely to be Geoff or Gavin.

Fuck. Gavin.

Michael pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his head on them. Gavin thought Michael was his mate. As in the only person he could ever truly love. Michael started hyperventilating, trying his hardest to calm down. And that fucking phone wasn’t helping.

“What do you want?” Michael panted into the phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

 _“Fuck, thank god you finally answered_ ,” of course it was Geoff. “ _Look, I know you’re freaking out. I understand that, but you need to come back here_ ,” Geoff begged.

“I need time to think. I-I’m freaking out here Geoff,” Michael said.

“ _Again, I understand that, but you have to get back here. Gavin is in a lot of pain and won’t talk to me. He won’t drink either and he’s starting to starve_ ,” Geoff said, shouting when something crashed in Gavin’s apartment. “ _Michael, please. He’ll die. He could get out and kill someone. Please, I need you to come back,_ ” Geoff begged and Michael felt the phone fall onto the bed. Gavin could die.

He was Gavin’s mate. And Gavin was his. And here he was, having his little freak out while Gavin was in pain, too distraught to feed and going insane because the one person he could truly love in this world had walked away from him.

' _I’m sorry, Gavin. I can’t_.'

Had told him he can’t love him.

Michael stumbled as he got off of his bed, ignoring his shoes and going straight for his keys. He drove to Gavin’s apartment, going well over the speed limit and parking by the building, running up the stairs before he finally made it to Gavin’s door. He heard Geoff talking to someone and knocked urgently on the door.

“Geoff! Open the door!” Michael called out. His boss opened the door, a deep gash on his forehead and a desperate look on his face.

“Thank fucking god. Gavin’s in his room,” Geoff said, opening the door more to let Michael in.

“What happened to you? And why is he so sick so quickly?” Michael asked.

“He got a little violent when I tried to force feed him. I’m fine. And it only takes a couple of days for vampires to starve to death. Just...get in there and talk to him. Try to get him to eat,” Geoff said, handing Michael a blood bag and a syringe filled with a metallic looking liquid. “Use that if he gets...violent,” Geoff said quietly. Michael flinched but looked at Gavin’s door, approaching slowly.

When he pushed open the door, all he saw was Gavin lying on his side, skin paler than normal and his eyes staring blankly at the wall opposite him. He had blood on his hands and a torn up blood bag seemed to be the culprit, across the room and spilling on the carpet.

“Gavin,” Michael whispered, walking towards him. The vampire didn’t respond, just laid there and Michael was scared that Gavin was actually dead. Not being technically alive didn’t help because there wouldn’t be a comforting rise and fall his chest to show he was still there. The auburn haired man walked in, quietly closing the door behind him as he approached, laying himself down next the Gavin, taking the other man’s hand into his.

“Gavin, I’m here,” Michael whispered, placing the blood bag between them and using the free hand to brush some of Gavin’s hair out of his face. The Brit’s eyes started to focus, looking right at Michael. His lips were parted showing off his fangs a little.

“M-Michael,” Gavin whispered, wincing at the pain of speaking. He still looked a little delirious but knew Michael was actually there.

“God, Gavin, I’m so sorry,” Michael said, reaching down for the bag. “Gav, baby, I need you to drink,” Michael said quietly, holding the blood in front of Gavin. The vampire shook his head weakly, pulling away a little but Michael released Gavin’s hand and cupped it over Gavin’s cheek, holding him there.

“Please. For me,” Michael asked, pressing a light kiss to Gavin’s lips, keeping his forehead against Gavin’s. Gavin closed his eyes, nodding and kissing Michael once more. Michael brought the bag up to Gavin’s lips, watching as Gavin bit down on it, the blood running down his chin a little as he drank. The bag emptied slowly but with each swallow, Gavin looked a more and more panicked.

“I can’t...It won’t stop,” Gavin whimpered, a hand clawing at his chest while the other went for his throat. “It won’t stop hurting,” he rasped, looking at Michael with an expression of panic. Michael threw the bag away from them, moving a little closer. 

“It’s okay. It’s fine. Everything’s fine,” Michael whispered reassuringly. Then he pulled the collar of his shirt aside, exposing his neck. Gavin’s eyes widened and he tried to pull away, this time with a little more strength.

“No. I-I won’t. Please don’t make me,” Gavin begged, but Michael held fast, nodding his head.

“Yes you will Gavin. I need you healthy, okay? I’ll be fine. I trust you,” Michael said and Gavin relaxed, looking into Michael’s eyes. He nodded.

“O-okay. Okay Michael,” Gavin whispered moving forward and resting his face in the crook of Michael’s neck, just pressing his lips to the skin there. “Thank you,” Gavin said quietly before he opened his mouth and bit down.

Michael winced, the pain of Gavin’s fangs piercing the skin making him twitch but otherwise, he remained still, wrapping his arms around Gavin as the vampire drank. Gavin let out a relieved sigh, the pain fading more and more until it was completely gone. He’d never, in his 546 years of being a vampire, been completely without pain. He understood why others drank from humans rather than bags like he did. Michael just ran a hand through Gavin’s hair, his eyes closing as he felt Gavin relax and only opened them when he felt Gavin finally withdraw. The vampire looked at him, his eyes bright, his cheeks flushed from the feeding and a little bit of blood running down his face.

“Michael, I...fuck, Michael,” Gavin growled, returning to Michael’s throat and running his tongue over the puncture marks. They started healing, quicker than normal because of vampire’s healing saliva. The Brit pushed Michael into the bed, removing his lips from Michael’s neck and instead pressing them to his lips pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss. Michael responded, almost moaning at the mix of light-headedness from being fed from and the ferocity with which Gavin kissed him.

“Gavin,” Michael breathed against the vampire’s lips, not paying attention to the metallic tang on Gavin’s tongue, but to the taste of the other man. They moved together, gasps and moans escaping them with every passing moment. Until Gavin pressed his teeth down again.

A little too hard.

“Ga-Gavin. Stop,” Michael stuttered. His arms pulling back from Gavin’s waist to push weakly at his chest. Gavin growled, biting down a little harder, his hands gripping the sheets beside Michael’s head. “Gavin, stop, please. You-You’re taking too m-“ Michael whimpered as Gavin gripped Michael’s waist, pulling them closer together and grinding their hips together. Michael moaned at the mix of pleasure and pain, his mind fogging up a little too much before coming back and reminding himself that Gavin wasn’t stopping on his own.  
The auburn haired man’s hand searched blindly around the bed for the syringe, his fingers meeting the cold glass and metal. “Gavin. St-..stop,” Michael said weakly, picking up the syringe and holding it over Gavin’s neck. “Please...”

Gavin pulled away, grunting as his hands slid away from Michael’s waist, gripping the sheets once more. Michael let his head fall back as he dropped the syringe, letting out a sigh of relief.

“S-Sorry. You just...you taste really good,” Gavin whispered with a nervous chuckle, licking Michael’s throat one last time to heal it. “Here,” Gavin said, pulling away and biting his own wrist, holding it out to Michael, his blood dripping down his skin. Michael frowned in disgust.

“I’m _not_ drinking that,” Michael mumbled, drunk from being low on blood.

“I’m returning the favour. You’ll feel better,” Gavin said, curling around Michael, pressing his bleeding wrist against Michael’s lips. The American sighed and hesitantly licked at Gavin’s arm, wincing at the metallic taste. He swallowed a little bit, finding himself getting sleepier and sleepier as he drank.

“Get some sleep, love,” Gavin said, licking his own wrist quickly, then pressing a kiss to Michael’s forehead.


	10. Chapter Ten-Epilogue

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

“So, I just...put it in the microwave?” Michael asked, opening the microwave door, moving to place a blood bag inside before being stopped by Gavin.

“No, the plastic just ends up seeping into the blood like that. Tastes awful. If I heat it up, I put it in a mug, then put it in the microwave for around 15 seconds on high,” Gavin said, showing him the process. Michael followed along, barely focusing on what Gavin was doing with the blood and seemed more interested in the way Gavin was holding Michael against his chest, his free arm curled around Michael’s waist with his fingers splayed across Michael’s hip, his thumb pushing aside his shirt so his cold hands could come into contact with the American’s skin.

“Do you always heat it up or...?” Michael asked, leaning against the counter as Gavin took the mug out and took a sip of his blood, his lips tinting red a little. 

“Sometimes I like it cold,” Gavin said with a shrug as he placed his mug down onto the counter, wrapping his arms around Michael’s waist. “Except when it’s you. You’re always hot,” Gavin said with a smirk. Michael was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter, burying his face in Gavin’s shoulder to muffle the noise.

“Good lord, that wan an awful line,” Michael said through his laughter. Gavin chuckled, running his hands up and down Michael’s sides.

“Yeah, I know. I’ve never been good at pickup lines or stuff like that,” Gavin admitted. 

“Doesn’t matter. You don’t need lines, you’ve already got me,” Michael said sweetly, pressing a lazy kiss to Gavin’s lips with a smile on his face. Gavin returned it, pulling Michael back in for a longer, slightly more _engaging_ kiss. 

“Glad I do. And you’ve got me too,” Gavin mumbled against Michael’s lips, nipping at the American’s lips playfully, his fangs grazing against the skin lightly.

“Good. Can’t have you flashing _those,_ ” Michael said, pulling back a little and motioning to Gavin’s fangs, “to every neck in Austin, can we?” he said jokingly. Gavin laughed, pulling Michael close and rocking them back and forth.

“Your neck’s the only one for me,” the Brit said sweetly, kissing Michael’s neck gently as his boyfriend and mate hummed contentedly in response. The atmosphere turned a little tense as Gavin tightened his grip around Michael’s waist, a frown forming on his face.

“Are you...are you sure you want to do this today? Maybe we should wait a while longer. Maybe after Christmas,” Gavin suggested, Michael sighing in irritation as he pulled away from the Brit.

“You said that when Thanksgiving rolled around. And 4th of July before that when we visited my family. And Christmas _last year_. Just come out with it. Do you not want me to turn?” Michael asked, putting his hands on his hips while Gavin leant back against the counter.

“I-...I just want you to be sure. I want you to be okay with...” Gavin trailed off, looking down at his feet. Michael raised an eyebrow and prompted him.

“Be okay with that? It’s not like I’m _dying_ dying. I’ll still be able to work at Achievement Hunter. And travel. And do things. What’s there to not be okay with?” Michael asked.

“Being okay with not having a heartbeat. With having to drink blood for the rest of your long _long_ life,” Gavin said, “Okay with being a monster,” he finished quietly. Michael’s expression softened and he placed his hands against Gavin’s chest, sliding them up to hang loosely around the other man’s chest.

“Baby, you’re not a monster. You’re an unbelievably sweet guy that just _happens_ to have an all blood diet and no heartbeat. Who cares? Just because it’s not beating, doesn’t mean your heart isn’t there,” Michael whispered into his mate’s lips, fiddling with some hair on the back of Gavin’s neck. Gavin smiled, his eyes tearing up a little.

“I love you Michael Jones,” Gavin said. Michael felt his heart skip a beat. They’d been together for over a year now and although he’d heard Gavin say those words before, often after a night of passionate lovemaking, it still gave him pause, made him think about how he felt for the vampire in front of him.

“I love you too, Gavin Free,” Michael said, kissing Gavin deeply. When they pulled away, Michael resting his head on Gavin’s chest and Gavin just inhaling Michael’s scent, that’s when Gavin finally gave in.

“Alright. We’ll do it tonight,” Gavin whispered, pressing his lips to Michael’s hair. The American’s lips turned up in a wide smile. He would actually be with Gavin forever. Well, as long as they were careful.

“Just-...” Gavin continued, making Michael look up into Gavin’s hazel eyes. “Can I just...I want to...” Gavin said, mumbling and pressing his hand to Michael’s chest. Michael nodded, leading Gavin to their bed. 

For their last night of Michael being human, they didn’t need sex. They’d have sex as much as they’d want afterwards.

All Gavin wanted to do was lay there with Michael, his head on his chest, listening to his heart beating.

**AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-AH-**

In 24 hours, after a day of painful writhing while Gavin attended to him, holding his hand and whispering soothing words to him and just holding him, Michael would open his eyes, a gasp escaping his lips as he sat up in bed, his chest giving an uncomfortable lurch as his heart gave its last stuttering beat, leaving his chest still. His red-tinted eyes wandering around the room until they focused on Gavin’s, the Brit sitting on the bed with a glass in his hand filled with blood.

“Michael?” Gavin would say, giving Michael a nervous look. Michael would stare blankly at Gavin before smiling, exposing his new fangs.

“Hey Gavin,” Michael would say and Gavin would smile in return, wrapping his arms around Michael.

“Gavin?” Michael would say after a while.

“Yes love?” Gavin would reply without pulling away.

“Can I have that drink now?”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bonding with a Vampire](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1934478) by [Gothicangel134](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothicangel134/pseuds/Gothicangel134)




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